South Florida high school student wins FBLA nationals
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Archit accepting his award
South Florida student Archit Namboodiri has won the championship at the 2023 National Leadership Conference of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).
Archit finished second in the Management Information Systems (MIS) competition where more than 300 students competed. The final awards ceremony was held in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a very prestigious honor that is only awarded to a few students in each category every year.
Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) is the largest business Career and Technical Student Organization in the world. Each year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business. As the premier business education association in the country, FBLA is on a mission to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. According to their organizational bylaws, “The organization provides an integral part of the instructional program, additional opportunities for secondary students (grades 9-12) in business and/or business-related fields to develop vocational and career supportive competencies, and to promote civic and personal responsibilities.”
The first FBLA high school chapter in Florida was founded in 1948 at Hillsborough High School in Tampa and has since spread with over 11,000 members across Florida, making it one of the largest FBLA chapters in the country!
Florida FBLA offers opportunities as early as middle school through high school, college and into their professional careers. The top five takeaways of Florida FBLA are aimed at developing your business leadership skills, increasing confidence in yourself and your work, learning how to become involved in leadership opportunities, having a better understanding of American business enterprises, and developing a path towards future college and career goals.
Michael Fowler speaks with students
Archit’s interest in Information Systems grew after attending the Mark Cuban Foundation’s AI bootcamp in the fall of 2022. The hands on classes were co-sponsored by South Florida Tech-Hub and Florida Power & Light and held at FPL’s Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach. They learned several artificial intelligence-specific methods and tools and made powerful connections with fellow students and instructors.
Archit and fellow students had the opportunity to listen and interact with tech executives such as Michael Fowler, IT Business Unit CIO at FPL. FPL is known for it’s philanthropic efforts, passion for driving tech talent, and giving back to the Florida community through multiple education initiatives such as STEM classroom makeovers, working with organizations such as Tech Hub, Mark Cuban AI bootcamps, Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code and so many more. FPL is also known for their one-of-a-kind internship program aimed at developing new talent and identifying candidates for a suitable future full-time employment opportunity.
Inspired by the AI Bootcamp, Archit then attended a Cyber Security bootcamp organized by the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa during the summer this year. He learned about several core cybersecurity topics, such as penetration testing, cross-browser scripting, and ransomware detection and negotiation. Archit had the opportunity to interact and network with several leading technology leaders from companies such as CISCO and Microsoft.
students in West Palm Beach program 2022
“The Marc Cuban AI boot camp sponsored by South Florida Tech-Hub and FPL opened a new world for me,” said Archit. “I learned about AI and how it is applied in our day-to-day lives. Through hands-on activities in the camp. I was exposed to several cutting-edge AI concepts, such as Machine Learning, Big Data, and Computer Vision and used these concepts in my FBLA competition to
demonstrate how organizations can make effective use of AI.”
He continued, “I’m thankful to the South Florida Tech Hub and FPL for providing me with this opportunity and to my school’s FBLA advisor, Mr. Pardo, for his continued guidance and support throughout the competition process.”
Archit is also the Treasurer of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization run solely by students, Surface 71, with a mission to raise awareness about plastic pollution and keep our cities and oceans cleaner and more beautiful. The students hold beach clean ups every month and have installed water refill stations into eleven local schools. He joined Surface71 in 2023 and is passionate about how technology can improve the environment.
Archit wants to pursue his college education in IT business with a focus on cyber security and data privacy and looking forward to helping the tech community by teaching middle and high school students what he has learned.
We wish you all the best Archit – we are sure to see you creating positive change for our future. Keep up the great work!
Click here for the complete 2023 list of winners. To learn more about Florida FBLA, visit https://www.floridafbla-pbl.com/